On Mon, 17 Sep 2001, Prof. John P. Ertel (wizard) wrote:
Well this seems an excellent opportunity to show the importance of
inertia.
Be *very* careful about introducing this into any class. A few years
back I used an example of a recent air crash as a lesson in physics...the
students were horrified and disgusted that I could even analyze such an
event. They were equally horrified to think that the NTSB uses the same
techniques. Most people cannot separate themselves from such events. And
as this was probably the worst such attack in US history, I think bringing
this up in any physics context can only do severe damage to the profession
in the eyes of the students. Discussing among ourselves is fine, I
caution against any use of this event in a class.